Ina Garten, star of the Emmy-winning “Barefoot Contessa” featured on the Food Network, recently came clean on her blog.

Her post to more than 160,000 followers: “Sometimes even I don't have time to cook!”

She then related news that she had launched the new line of Barefoot Contessa Sauté Dinners for Two, available in supermarkets nationwide over the next few months.

Fans can learn more about the best-selling cookbook author and Food Network host when Garten takes center stage March 27 at The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts in Worcester.

She will share her natural approach to food, offering tips, stories and most likely a recipe or two. She will be joined on stage by Billy Costa of KISS 108, who will help moderate the show, including an interactive Q&A with the audience.

Garten in a recent telephone interview chatted about life and the Barefoot Contessa.

You have to know that Garten is absolutely “thrilled” with her new frozen food line.

“As I have done with my cookbooks and TV shows, I am personally involved in every step and detail of creating the dinners,” said Garten. She explained that her involvement includes not only choosing and testing recipes, but also monitoring quality and packaging.

The dinners, including Barefoot Contessa Beef Stew Bourguignon, Sesame Chicken & Noodles and Shrimp Scampi & Linguine, can be prepared in 10 minutes. Suggested retail is about $8.99. Price Chopper stores in Worcester County will be among local supermarket chains that will sell the product.

“I knew we had nailed the quality and flavor of the sautés when an assistant's husband ate one of them, thinking that I had made the dish,” said Garten.

“He loved the meal, but he had no idea it was prepared from a package. He even commented to his wife that he wondered how the meal would taste when the manufacturer made it.”

It was more than 30 years ago when Garten left a job as a nuclear energy budget analyst for the Office of Management and Budget in the White House, overseeing the budget of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, during the Carter administration, to buy Barefoot Contessa, a small specialty food store in Westhampton, N.Y.

Garten said she had no experience in the food industry, or running a business. “I took a big risk,” she said.

Her decision paid off.

The shop flourished and expanded to a 3,000-square-foot space in East Hampton. She sold it in 1996 to two employees.

Garten has been on the Food Network since 2002, and with her business partner, Frank Newbold, has developed the Barefoot Contessa Pantry line.

She has written eight cookbooks, including her most recent, “Barefoot Contessa Foolproof” (Clarkson Potter Publishers, $35). She is working on another cookbook, she said, and recently had tested a recipe with caramel. She would not divulge any more about the book, but said she never imagined she would have written so many.

“After my first cookbook, my publisher surprised me and asked for a second book, and I said, 'I don't have another book in me.' Then I remember a flavor, something that I had as a child, or something I ate at a friend's house or a specialty shop, and the process begins.

“Inspiration comes from everywhere, except restaurants,” said Garten. “Restaurant food is a whole different category.”

She said she loves writing cookbooks and claims it's in her DNA.

Her routine is that she gets up early in the morning and walks next door to the “barn” to work. “Testing recipes is what I like to do,” she said, “and I work very hard to make sure they are easy to follow.”

Note: The “barn,” built six years ago next to Garten's home, includes a 2,000-square-foot kitchen where cooking and TV filming is done.

Garten, 65, lives in East Hampton with her husband, Jeffrey Garten, a professor of business at Yale University. The couple also have apartments in New York and Paris.

She enjoys gardening and grows both vegetables and flowers on her property. She likes to “play around” with new and different varieties of plants.

Sometimes she gets a little too ambitious.

Garten said she once bought dozens of tomato plants, not thinking about what would happen when all the fruit ripened. “I had so many tomatoes I couldn't give them away,” she said. “It was like having too much zucchini. I learned my lesson that year.”

It was a cold, wintry day when I interviewed Garten, and she remarked about the weather and how much she liked winter.

Why?

She said she liked the thought of a cozy fireplace and hearty foods such as stews and soups.

“One of my little secrets is that I love to throw on a pair of sweats on wintry days,” she said. “It's that comfy feeling that I like so much.”

Sunday is a special day for Garten, who said it's not only a day to read the newspaper and relax, but it's also the day she has a massage. The truth is that for more than 25 years, every Sunday, Garten has had a massage. “And, I still have the same masseuse,” she said.

Garten will spend two days in Boston this week, traveling to Providence, Worcester and Hartford for scheduled shows.

She usually is on stage for an hour, with the question-and-answer period lasting about 30 minutes. She said she never really knows what to expect during the Q&A, but there is one question that fans ask “over and over again.”

The question: “Is Jeffrey your TV husband or real husband?”

“I can tell you he's the real deal,” said Garten.

April 1, Garten will attend the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. First lady Michelle Obama extended the invitation to the first-time guest.

“I was nervous when I left the White House to start a business, and I never thought I would return,” said Garten. “Life can get crazy.”

About her career, Garten said, “What has come to me is far beyond what I could have dreamed.”

She shared the story of how she recently was in Manhattan when a well-dressed woman approached her to say how much she and her friends enjoyed everything about the Barefoot Contessa.

“The woman was pleasant, and I thanked her, and as I walked away a truck slowed down and the driver yelled out his window, 'Hey, Babe, I love your show.' ”

You can marinate the steak up to a day in advance and grill it just before dinner, according to Garten.

Mustard-marinated Flank Steak1 flank steak (2 to 2-1/2 pounds)

1/3 cup dry white wine

1/3 cup good olive oil

1/3 cup Dijon mustard

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup chopped shallots (2 shallots)

1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh tarragon leaves

Place the steak flat in a large nonreactive dish such as glass or porcelain. Using the tip of a sharp knife, lightly score the top of the steak diagonally in a large crisscross pattern to make what looks like 1-inch diamonds across the steak. This allows the marinade to penetrate into the meat.

In a 2-cup measuring cup, whisk together the wine, olive oil, mustard, 1 teaspoon salt and ˝ teaspoon pepper. Stir in the shallots and garlic. Pour the marinade over and under the steak until it's completely coated. Scatter the tarragon on top. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and allow it to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours but preferably overnight.

Half an hour before serving, remove the steak from the refrigerator and heat a charcoal grill with a layer of coals. (You can also set a gas grill on medium-high heat.) Sprinkle the steak with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Discard the remaining marinade. Grill the steak for about 5 minutes per side for medium rare. Place the steak on a clean plate, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Slice the steak thin, cutting diagonally across the grain. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot. Serves 4 to 5.